


the red thread of fate

by reyloanne



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Devoted Reylo, F/M, Reylo in Asia, love letter to Taiwan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:09:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23219050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reyloanne/pseuds/reyloanne
Summary: Unhappy with his life and estranged from his parents, Ben Solo moves to Taipei on a whim, and finds his destiny in a place he never expected.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 112
Kudos: 136





	the red thread of fate

**Author's Note:**

> A huge thank you once again to [Sofondabooks/MsDes](https://twitter.com/sofondabooks) for betaing!! You are an amazing partner in all this.
> 
> There are a very few instances of untranslated Chinese here. If you're on a computer, you should be able to hover over them and see a translation. If not, you can find them translated at the end.
> 
> I commissioned [Afterblossom](https://twitter.com/_afterblossom_) to draw Ben and Rey making zongzi. Aren't they adorable??  
> [](https://imgur.com/vNEkxpa)  
> 

[](https://imgur.com/YDGO6DJ)  


####  **人山人海 (A Sea of People)**

Ben steps out into the Taichung High Speed Rail station, into a cacophony of noise and color. Luckily signage here in Taiwan usually has English, but it still takes him a moment to orient himself. He’s surrounded by a mostly unintelligible blur of rapid-fire Mandarin, as well as a more nasal-sounding language that he guesses must be Taiwanese.

Rey had said she’ll meet him downstairs near the entrance. He makes his way past crowds of people traveling back to the countryside for the Dragon Boat Festival. He feels like the proverbial sore thumb sticking out, standing as he does head and shoulders above most of the people here. People often stare, and it’s a crapshoot whether kids will cry upon seeing him, or come up to ask if he’s a “waiguoren”—a foreigner. Or why his nose is so big.

He’s been intensely lonely during the six months he’s lived in Taipei, even though the people are friendly and eager to help. He thinks it’s getting better as his language skills improve, but it’s hard for someone as introverted as he is to make that push to get out and talk to people like he should. There are a lot of Western expats living in Taipei, but he feels like he doesn’t fit in with them. They’re mostly students living a party lifestyle, or young families focused on schools and kids. But Ben has no family, and he has to work.

He’d been just as lonely back in the States, though, so nothing’s changed, really.

He and Rey have never met, but she’s sent him a fair number of pictures via LINE so he knows what she looks like. He’s saved all those pictures to his phone and stares at them way more than necessary, memorizing her upturned hazel eyes, her freckles, and her megawatt smile. He checks his LINE once more to see a message saying she’s downstairs waiting. He stops at Mister Donut to get a half-dozen of their signature chewy mochi-like “pon de ring” donuts in green tea, strawberry, and chocolate, then makes his way down to Rey, thinking back to what has led them to this moment.

* * *

####  **妻離子散 (A Family Broken Apart)**

He’d moved to Taiwan on a whim half a year ago, after seeing it listed as one of the best places for Western expats to live. Excellent, high-tech health care and transportation systems, low cost of living, the friendly locals, and safety are just a few of the things that appealed to him. And Ben works remotely as a freelance writer, so he can work from anywhere.

He’d felt the soul-deep need for change for a long time, to escape from past mistakes, to get away from the toxic relationship he had with his family. And Taiwan seemed about as far away as he could possibly get, while still enjoying all the benefits of a modern, advanced, free society.

For the six months before he left, as he finalized all the arrangements, he’d found a teacher online and begun taking Chinese lessons via Skype. It was slow going, but he’d felt like he was making progress. Then he got to Taiwan and suddenly felt like he was drowning. Why do people have to talk so FAST? And use different words than the ones he learned? Why is “taxi” suddenly 計程車, when every textbook he’d ever seen called it 出租車? And so on. It’s enough to make him tear his hair out.

His teacher Anna had put him in touch with another of her students: Rey, the adopted daughter of a Taiwanese immigrant to America, who goes back to Taiwan almost every summer. Rey is Anna’s only other student with close ties to Taiwan, so she thought Rey might be able to give Ben advice and help him adjust.

Rey and Ben have been trading messages and then voice and video calls for the past 4 months, starting with language learning and practical tips for living in Taiwan, and slowly moving to everything else under the sun as they get to know each other. Their shared love of languages, travel, and food, as well as their mutual interest in history and politics—and in binge-watching C-dramas—means that they talk for hours every day.

He knows that she doesn’t have a boyfriend, and that she feels left out as all her friends from college pair up. She graduated from Berkeley two years ago with a degree in mechanical engineering and got a job at a big engineering firm. She likes it okay, but goes home alone most evenings to binge-watch shows together with Ben.

Ben thinks they’ve grown close, but they’ve never crossed any lines. They live an ocean apart, so he never allows himself to hope or dream, but he’s never met anyone like her.

* * *

####  **一見鍾情 (Love at First Sight)**

As Ben rides the escalator down to ground level, he can see Rey waving at him animatedly.

“Ben! Ben!” She runs up and throws herself into his arms, surprising him and knocking him back a few steps. His surprise turns to something else as he tightens his arms around her and buries his face in her hair, inhaling the scent of jasmine and sunshine and sweat and REY for the very first time.

After a moment she pulls back but keeps her hands on his forearms. “You’re so much bigger than you seemed through my computer screen,” she says at last, biting her lip and looking up at him from under her lashes. “I’m sorry in advance, you may not fit very well in my uncle’s house!”

“That’s okay, I’m kinda used to making myself smaller in this country. The worst thing is trying to find clothes that fit me! An impossible nightmare,” he says with a self-deprecating shrug of a shoulder.

She grins and then turns, grabbing his hand. “Come on, I’m parked this way!” She tugs him out the doors and into the sunshine. Ben notices that she never lets go of his hand, threading her fingers through his and swinging their arms in tandem. All he knows is that he never wants her to let go.

They get in the car for the forty-minute drive from Taichung City out to the rice paddies and taro fields of the Da’an District. Ben reluctantly lets go of her hand to allow her to navigate the crazy roads here, filled as they are with scooters weaving in and out of traffic like a crazed tribe of buzzing insects.

“So, we’re staying with my uncle, my mom’s 弟弟. He still lives in the old Lee family compound out in the countryside. It’s very traditional, a slice of old Taiwan that you rarely see anymore. We’ll be making and eating 粽子—the rice dumplings? rice tamales? I don’t know what to call them in English—that are traditional for the Dragon Boat Festival.”

“I love those!” Ben returns. “Anything made with sticky rice is a favorite of mine.”

“I’m so glad you’re not a picky eater, it makes things so much easier!” She turns to give him a brief smile, then puts her eyes back on the road. “I apologize in advance for the bathroom. It’s… a little cramped. And there is AC in some rooms, but it’s still really hot and sticky this time of year.”

“I’ll live. I’m just happy to be here, with you.”

She turns her megawatt smile on him, and Ben’s heart grows three sizes like the Grinch’s. Ben knew she was beautiful, but to see her beauty directly like this, not mitigated through a pixelated screen, blinds him, like walking out into the sun after being indoors in artificial lighting. He may not survive the separation after he spends these two days with her.

After they arrive home, as they’re unloading their luggage from the trunk, an older man comes out to greet them, hugging Rey first and gesturing towards Ben.

"這是你的男朋友嗎，蕾蕾?"

“舅舅! He can understand some Chinese, you know!” she says, flushing and laughing.

“I know, I just like just teasing you, Rey-Rey!” He turns to Ben and shakes his hand. “Hello, and welcome to our family home. My name is 李偉, but you can call me Uncle Wei.”

“Thank you so much for letting me join you for the holiday, sir. I appreciate it!” Ben then turns to the tiny lady who’s pushed her way in between him and Uncle Wei and is peering sharply up at him through thick Coke-bottle glasses.

“So you’re Ben! Rey-Rey here has told me so much about you! I’m her mother, Maz.” She turns to Rey. “Why don’t you take him to the room and show him around? Let him rest a bit before we introduce him to everyone.”

Ben grabs both their bags and looks expectantly at Rey.

“Let’s get this party started, preferably somewhere indoors with air conditioning,” she laughs as she leads him inside.

* * *

####  **低頭思故鄉 (I lower my head and think of home)**

That afternoon they join the other relatives in stuffing the sticky rice, meat, dried black mushroom, and onion filling into lotus leaves and tying them up with twine to make the zongzi. Then they go out in the courtyard to boil them in big iron pots placed over wood fires.

Ben loves the chatter of the family all around. They’ve joined Rey’s great-uncle’s family next door, and all of his children and grandchildren are laughing and talking animatedly, mostly in Taiwanese, which even Rey can only understand just a little bit of.

Ben and Rey spend the evening chatting as they always do about anything and everything. Sometimes she’ll engage in a rapid-fire burst of Mandarin with one of her relatives, and Ben thinks he can catch about 25% of what’s said, maybe 50% if Rey is speaking slowly and clearly for his benefit.

“Did you ever feel out of place, being white?” Ben ventures as they work. “No offense, I’m just wondering how it was for you growing up adopted in a Chinese family.”

“No offense taken, Ben.” Rey chuckles and leans over to give him a lingering press with her shoulder. She’s been touching him all day: a hand on his arm, a length of bare leg pressed against his, an arm around his waist. It’s driving him crazy in the very best way. “You know, I never really thought about it until recently. My mom adopted me from the foster care system when I was 7, so I was young enough that I fit in pretty easily. Honestly, it was all I ever really knew. And because I can speak Chinese fluently, I think that makes me feel like just as much a part of the family as anyone else.”

“That’s amazing, Rey… I have a birth family who I’m not nearly as close with as you are with your adopted family. You’re so lucky that you and Maz found each other.” He smiles over at her, wishing he had a hand free to hold hers.

“Well, as they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder! Maybe this time living an ocean apart will help you repair your relationship with your parents.” They sit in silence for a few seconds before Rey continues, “Hey, do you know the story behind 端午節, the Dragon Boat Festival?”

When Ben shakes his head, she continues, “It supposedly commemorates a guy from the Warring States period in China. I’m not clear on exactly what happened, but I think what it boils down to is that he was an upright official who, when faced with the defeat of the kingdom he served, committed suicide by drowning himself in a river. The story goes that the local people, who admired him, raced out in their boats to try to save him, or at least retrieve his body. That’s the origin of the dragon boat races.”

She pauses to tie up the rice tamale she’s working on, then continues, “When they couldn’t find his body, they dropped balls of sticky rice into the river so that the fish would eat them instead of him. That’s the origin of these 粽子.”

They continue eating, chatting, and drinking tea well into the night. Authentic Taiwan “high mountain” oolong tea is some of the best in the world, and Ben is plied with countless thimble-sized cups of it in the ceremony of sorts known around here as 老人茶, or “old man tea.” He’s afraid he won’t be able to sleep, but then again he knows he wants to stay awake anyway to bask in every minute of Rey’s presence that he can.

Along with the tea, Ben enjoys his first taste of sweet, floral, vaguely-grape-like lychees, as well as the mild-flavored but brilliantly-colored dragonfruit, which stains his mouth bright purple. Rey reaches up and places her hand on his cheek, using her thumb to swipe at some of the purple juice that’s running down his chin. Ben licks his lips, eyes frozen on Rey’s.

They stay like that until Maz and Uncle Wei clear their throats and say something about going back home.

* * *

####  **兩人世界 (Just the two of us)**

Ben is careful not to touch Rey as they walk across the courtyard and into the house. Maz and Uncle Wei say good night and go upstairs, leaving Rey and Ben alone. They’re sharing the lone big bedroom downstairs, which has two separate mosquito-netted beds.

Rey smiles at him, eyes flickering up to his and then quickly away. “Do you want to take a shower first, or should I?”

“You go ahead,” he says, and spends the next fifteen minutes tormented by the knowledge that she’s naked in the little bathroom just outside. He can hear the water running.

She comes back in fully dressed, hair wet and tangled, face fresh-scrubbed and beautiful. Ben gathers his things and scoots out past her in awkward silence. The bathroom is just one small open tiled room with a toilet, sink, and handheld shower head. It’s located underneath the stairs, and the ceiling’s so low that he can barely fit, even crouched over.

When he finally manages to wash himself of the day’s sweat and grime and return to the bedroom, he finds Rey lying on her back inside the white mosquito netting. She glances over at him.

“How was it?” she says with a grimace.

“All part of the authentic countryside experience.” Ben laughs and climbs through the opening in the mosquito netting to lie down on his bed, which is much harder than he’s used to, as is the lone small pillow. He tosses and turns, trying to get comfortable, as the lights go out. He expects Rey to get back in her bed, and is startled to see her standing by his, large liquid eyes shining in the little bit of moonlight that seeps in through the window.

“Ben, do you - do you mind if I get in bed with you for a while?” Ben just stares, dumbfounded. Rey turns to go. “Sorry, too soon, forget it.”

Ben reaches through the opening to grab her wrist. “I’d”—his voice comes out hoarse, scratchy. He clears his throat and tries again—“I’d love that, Rey.”

She climbs into his bed. Ben feels like they’re in their own world, just the two of them under the canopy of white that cuts them off from the rest of the world. It’s just them, the moonlight, the hum of the air conditioning unit. They both toss and turn in all the uncertainty of this new intimacy before she settles onto him, head on his chest and one arm slung across his stomach. He reaches around her to settle his hand on the dip of her waist. 

They talk in hushed tones until sleep overtakes them.

* * *

####  **輕輕一個吻 (So soft was the kiss)**

Ben awakens in the morning to Rey climbing out of bed. “I just gotta pee. I’ll be right back.”

After she returns, she climbs back into bed and sits there looking down at him, eyes flickering around his face for a few silent moments before she leans down to press a firm, closed-mouthed kiss against his lips.

Rey pulls up, leaving Ben lying there, stunned. Her breathing is ragged, and her eyes look everywhere but him as she says, “Ben, I really like you. A lot. I don’t know, but I think you feel the same way. I… I’d really like to see where this goes between us. I know you’re going back to Taipei today… Is there any way we could spend some more time together before I go back to the States?”

Her eyes finally slide over to his, and Ben can see hope warring with nerves in them as she chews on the beautiful bottom lip that just turned his world upside down with a touch. He grabs the hand she left resting on his chest.

“Could you come back to Taipei with me? We could spend the week together? You can stay with me. I don’t have a lot of space and there’s only one bed, but maybe you don’t mind sharing? And,” he hastens to add, “no pressure to do anything there. Like that. Just so we’re clear.” He coughs nervously.

Rey reaches her free hand up to cup his cheek as a warm smile breaks out over her face. “No pressure. Just you and me. Let me talk to my mom, but I think I can make this work. We fly out of Taipei anyway, so she can meet me there at the end of the week.”

She kisses him again, this time coaxing him to open his mouth. Her mouth tastes minty—he hopes she doesn’t mind his morning breath too much. The kisses turn heated, frantic. She nips at his lips and throws a leg over his hips to straddle him. Just as her pelvis begins to move against his, the sound of her mother and uncle talking throws cold water on them both.

Rey scrambles off him, and they stare at each other, panting.

“I’ll just go talk to her while you, uh…” She gestures vaguely before pressing a quick, giggling kiss to his mouth. Just before leaving the room, she stops and looks back, eyes holding his for a long moment. She blows a kiss to him and, with a quick “be back soon,” leaves the room in a whirlwind. Ben reaches a shaking hand up to touch his lips in wonder.

* * *

####  **名勝古跡 (Scenic spots and historic sites)**

They spend the week in Taipei, going to all the famous sites: Taipei 101, the world’s tallest building from 2004 to 2010, and still the 11th tallest. (A giant skyscraper in an active earthquake zone does not feel reassuring to Ben. Rey holds his hand the whole time they’re at the top.)

The Maokong Gondola, a 2.7-mile line that takes them from the zoo up to the top of the misty Maokong, where they try different flavors of tea ice cream and grilled street food. (The clear bottom of the gondola’s “crystal cabin” makes Ben a little queasy. Rey runs her fingers through his hair and rubs his shoulders the whole time they’re in it.)

Night markets, like the famous Shilin Night Market, where they go to people watch and eat all kinds of foods. (The ripe garbage-dump smell of 臭豆腐, stinky tofu, does not inspire confidence in Ben, but Rey eats it up, and everything else she can get her hands on.)

The National Palace Museum, where they see all the priceless cultural and artistic treasures brought over to Taiwan from the mainland by Nationalists fleeing Communist rule. (Ben is mystified by the appeal of the famous “Jadeite Cabbage” sculpture that all the crowds flock to see. Rey just keeps her arm around his waist, and pulls him into dark corners for kisses when no one’s looking.)

They enjoy Taiwanese specialties like beef noodle soup, hot pot, boba tea, sweet mung bean soup, and pineapple cakes. They eat matcha-flavored everything. They go to the ubiquitous 7-Eleven for snacks and tea eggs. (Ben discovered long ago that 7-Elevens here are nothing like American 7-Elevens. They are the place to go for absolutely everything one could need: paying your bills, buying train tickets, any sort of printing, topping off your subway card, et cetera. Truly a place of miracles.)

And through it all they fall more and more in love each day, each moment. They haven’t said the words yet, but Ben feels it in every fiber of his being, and he thinks Rey does, too.

On their last evening together, they go to the world-famous Din Tai Fung, where they eat 小籠包 soup dumplings until their stomachs feel like bursting. (Rey loves the chocolate ones.)

On the ride back to Ben’s apartment, the subway is uncharacteristically empty, so Rey is able to take a seat next to him. Ben slings an arm around her shoulders and she wraps both arms around him, burying her face in his chest.

“Ben, I don’t want to go home.”

“We can go to one of the night markets if you want. But can you really eat more? I’m stuffed.”

“No, no, I mean, I don’t want to go back to America. I don’t want to leave you.” Her voice is small, giving voice and form to the dark cloud that’s loomed over them this whole week.

“I don’t want you to leave either.” He strokes her hair, and then rubs circles into her back. “And it won’t be forever. I can move back. I can work from anywhere, you know.”

She’s silent for a moment, and then: “Let’s don’t worry about it for now. I don’t want this to ruin our last night together.” She leans up to kiss him chastely, mindful of the other people on the train.

The next stop is theirs, Xiangshan. The end of the red line. They get off and walk the five minutes back to Ben’s apartment hand in hand, each seemingly lost in thought.

* * *

####  **我欲与君相知 (I want to be your love forever)**

Ben reaches up to turn on the lights as they enter the apartment, but Rey’s hand on his stops him. Her hands glide up and over his chest, and she pulls him down for an open-mouthed kiss. After a few moments she stops to catch her breath and rests her forehead against his.

“Ben, I want to be with you. In this way. In every way possible. I know you said no pressure, and I don’t want _you_ to feel pressured into doing something you don’t want to. But I don’t want to go home without experiencing this with you.”

Ben thinks there is possibly nothing in the world that he wants more than to be with Rey like this. Meeting her has been a gift that he never thought to receive, in the very last place he ever would have thought to look. He had no idea what to expect when he chose, seemingly randomly and on a whim, to move to Taiwan, but he can see now that the universe and everything in it were leading him to her. All this runs through his mind as he stands suspended in this weighty, luminous moment.

“Rey.” He kisses her soundly, then scoops her up in a bridal carry and sweeps into his bedroom. They’ve spent a week’s worth of nights lying together in this bed, mostly chastely. Now, as he strips her of her clothing piece by piece, unveiling and pressing reverent kisses to each piece of the puzzle that is Rey’s body, his soul feels just as stripped bare by her. They spend long, timeless moments exploring each other in every way possible, and when she comes apart above him, he can’t help but follow, spilling himself into her as her name spills from his lips.

* * *

####  **与君生别离 (Living far away from you)**

The next morning, Ben takes Rey to meet Maz at the Taipei Main Station, where they’ll catch a metro train straight to Taoyuan International Airport. Rey’s tears as she clings to him tear at his heart.

“Call me as soon as you get back safely, sweetheart.”

“I will.” She swipes at her eyes and takes a deep breath.

Ben can tell she’s trying to steel herself to leave. He leans down to press his mouth to her ear: “I love you.”

Her eyes dart up to his, startled. _Too soon? Ben, you dumbass_ , he berates himself. And then a smile breaks over her face like the sun rising in a riot of light and heat and color, and she gives him one last exuberant kiss before taking her turn at his ear to say, “I love you, too! So much. We’ll be together again soon, you’ll see. And until then, we can talk every night, just like before.”

Ben stands and watches her and Maz walk away down the concourse, until they are out of sight. And then he stands there for a long moment more before turning and heading back to a home that feels like all the light and warmth has gone out of it.

Ben and Rey do talk every night, for hours. But Ben being Ben, as soon as she’s out of his sight, he starts to worry a little about what she sees in him. She’s so bright, so smart, so capable… surely she could do better than a 30-year-old loner like him.

But Rey patiently breaks through his every doubt and every defense. She encourages him, she praises him—she tells him how good and smart he is, how handsome he is. She tells him how much she loves him every chance she gets.

He calls his parents for the first time in years on her encouragement. They spend an hour catching up, and end with a promise to talk again soon. He thinks maybe they really can repair what went so very wrong.

Rey rewards him with a couple of selfies in the altogether that he treasures like American paper towels and real whole-grain bread (he laughs at how his priorities have changed). God, he misses those cute little breasts that fit so perfectly into his hands, that frankly astonishing ass, the dusting of freckles all over her torso, the slim dip of her waist that he can span with his hands—not to mention her wet warmth where he’d found such bliss. But most of all, he misses her voice, her smile, her presence. The whole package that makes up Rey, the girl he loves with all his heart.

He makes a trip to Shilin Night Market, his first since he went there with Rey during their magical week together in Taipei. Everywhere he turns, he catches glimpses of her like a ghost among the throngs of people. If only he could reach her... He sees her as she was: face lovely as she sips her boba tea, eyes smiling up at him. Gasping and laughing after she takes a too-large bite of a piping hot green onion pancake. Teasing him when they pass the stinky tofu vendor. The soft swell of her breast pressed against his arm as she clings to him so sweetly.

He begins to believe in the fabled red thread of fate spoken of in ancient Chinese mythology. Their souls are connected, no matter the distance between them, and the string can stretch or contract but can never be broken. And he thinks he feels its tug more and more insistent as the weeks go by.

* * *

####  **天地合, 乃敢与君绝! (When heaven and earth become one, only then will I part from you!)**

And then one day—he begins packing up his apartment. He doesn’t have much, but he wants to be ready. He talks to his landlord about what breaking his lease would entail. He begins looking at airline ticket prices. He thinks he’s about ready to talk to Rey about him moving back to the US to be with her.

He’s researching flights one afternoon when his phone rings with a LINE voice call. It’s her.

“Hey, sweetheart, isn’t it late over there? What in the world are you doing up?”

“Hi Ben, I have a surprise for you.” He can hear the excitement bubbling up in her voice.

“That’s great, I, uh—I actually have one for you, too. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about it for a while now.” He’s really nervous, now that the time is here. He’ll let her go first. “So what’s your surprise?”

“Are you at home?”

“Yes, I’m here, what…”

“Look out your window,” she says, cutting him off. He stands and walks to the window. His heart jumpstarts, his blood pounds in his ears, he braces himself against the sill—Rey is down on the street below, jumping and waving up to him in huge overhead arcs.

“Ben! Ben!” He can hear her voice in delayed stereo, first floating up muffled from below and then through the phone speaker. He drops the phone, grabs his keys, and races down the stairs, taking them two and three at a time, praying he doesn’t break his neck before he can kiss her again. He flings the front door open with a crash to find her standing in front of him.

He stops dead, chest heaving, frozen in disbelief. How is she here? Is she real, or another fever dream? She resolves the question by flinging her arms around him, breaking his paralysis at last as he returns the embrace with desperation, burying his nose in her hair.

“What are you doing here? Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

“I wanted to surprise you. My cousin Shumei”—she gestures to the girl about Ben’s age who’s standing at the curb next to a car and two large suitcases plus an assortment of backpacks and bags—“picked me up and brought me here.” Rey puts her hands on his chest and presses to create a little distance without breaking his hold on her. She bites her lip and takes a deep breath. Then the words fall out in a jumbled rush.

“Ben, I quit my job. Shumei—you remember hearing about her, right? She’s my uncle Wei’s daughter who lives in Taipei, and runs a big language school here—she said she’d give me a job teaching English at her school. I have some savings that should last me a while. And I thought, if you don’t mind I could stay with you, but if not it’s okay. I know it’s a lot to ask, I can stay with Shumei too…”

Ben cuts her off with a kiss that lasts longer than he means it to, but once he starts he can’t seem to get enough. He deepens the kiss, desperate, nipping at her lips, hands scrambling to bring her closer. They finally break apart, panting.

“I would love for you to stay here with me, for as long as you like.” He cups her face, and decides to go for the phrase he’s been practicing for just such a moment as this. “Rey, 我愛你一生一世.”

He can see understanding dawn in her eyes as they begin to shimmer. “You’re not alone, Ben Solo. You never have to be alone again.”

“Neither do you,” he says as he kisses her once more before turning to go grab her bags and begin their new life together.

**劇終 (The End)**

**Author's Note:**

> This is actually based on a true story, something that happened to me while I was in Taiwan last summer (minus the falling in love part), as well as my own experiences of visiting Taiwan over the years.
> 
> A few translations:  
> When Rey’s uncle first sees Ben, he asks her: “這是你的男朋友嗎，蕾蕾？” (Is this your boyfriend, Rey-Rey?)  
> At the very end, Ben says to Rey: “Rey, 我愛你一生一世.” (Rey, I’ll love you forever.)
> 
> [Dragon Boat Festival](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Boat_Festival)
> 
> [Zongzi (sometimes called sticky rice dumplings or rice tamales)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zongzi)
> 
> [Taipei 101](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taipei_101), the tallest building in Taiwan and 11th tallest in the world. It’s a well-known symbol of Taiwan, with a creative modern style that evokes traditional Asian aesthetics.
> 
> If you go to Taiwan, you should definitely eat at [Din Tai Fung](https://www.dintaifung.com.tw/eng/)! They also have locations outside Taiwan, including in the US.
> 
> Did you know the popular [boba tea (also known as bubble tea or pearl milk tea)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_tea) originated in Taiwan?
> 
> [Stinky tofu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stinky_tofu). Yes, it really does smell like an open garbage dump. Surprisingly, it doesn’t taste bad. But who was the first person to smell this and think: YES, I would like to eat this?! It boggles the mind.
> 
> For those of you who are interested in the language: One thing that attracted me to learning Chinese was the beautiful writing system, which you can see a few examples of above. As far as I know, Chinese is the world’s ONLY written language without an alphabet. So that means each of those characters is a symbol of sorts, kind of like Egyptian hieroglyphics (although they do often have a phonetic component). For example, 日 means sun or day. It looks kind of like a sun, doesn’t it? 人 means person, and I think it looks like two legs walking. (These characters are used in modern-day Japanese, where they’re called “kanji.” But Japanese also has an alphabet - in fact, it has TWO!)
> 
> My other stories:  
> [Rocky Mountain High](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21464980/chapters/51153376) (complete): sweet, devoted Reylo inspired by pro tennis, southern Colorado, and John Denver
> 
> [Dog Days of Summer](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20061766/chapters/47512132) (complete): sweet, devoted Reylo with veterinary student Rey, engineering professor Ben, and a cute doggie named Buster.


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